Jennifer Pouncy, left, walks from the Federal courthouse in Montgomery, Ala. on Wednesday Sept. 26, 2012 with her attorney Tommy Spina after Pouncy was sentenced to three years probation for her part in the gambling corruption trial. (AP Photo/Montgomery Advertiser, Mickey Welsh)

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- A federal judge this morning sentenced former lobbyist Jennifer Pouncy to probation for three years for her role in a bingo vote-buying conspiracy.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Pouncy, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, to two years in prison, saying she committed serious crimes. However, defense lawyer Tommy Spina asked for leniency saying Pouncy was only following her bosses orders when she delivered bribe offers to two state senators to entice them to vote for a gambling bill.

"She wasn't going to open a casino. (Prosecutors) talk about greed. She was just trying to keep a $60,000-a-year job," Spina said.

Pouncy testified at two trials that she was the reluctant go-between for her boss lobbyist Jarrod Massey and casino developer Ronnie Gilley as they made offers of campaign contributions to state senators to get their votes on a bill aimed at keeping electronic bingo casinos open across the state.

Spina said Massey and Gilley were the masterminds of the scheme.

"They were driving the bus, she was just a puppet and an attractive young lady that they used," Spina said.

Spina described Pouncy as the hard-working mother of a 3-year-old son and said it would do no good to send her to prison.

Pouncy's voice cracked as she apologized to the court and to her family for her actions.

"I'm very sorry for what I have done ... I wish I was stronger. I wanted to tell my family I am sorry," my husband, my baby boy," she said.

But federal prosecutor Rae Woods told U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins that Pouncy deserved prison time because her crime was serious.

"The crimes threatened the very system of government here in Alabama," Woods said.

"We're talking about a defendant who has admitted offering bribes to state senators," Woods said.

Pouncy faced up to five years in prison and Woods said prosecutors were already agreeing to a substantial departure by seeking two years.

Spina said Pouncy was the first to cooperate with the investigation and her assistance helped get guilty pleas from Massey and Gilley. Pouncy had also been through a "roller coaster," Spina said.

Spina told the judge during plea negotiations prosecutors initially offered to recommend probation but that was yanked away by the new chief of Public Integrity at the Department of Justice.

Pouncy at trial also went through an an aggressive cross-examination that included defense lawyers playing a recording of a crude phone conversation between Massey and Gilley in which they joked about getting Pouncy to strip for an aging state senator to win his vote.

The trials were a stinging defeat for prosecutors that ultimately resulted in across-the-board not guilty verdicts for VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor, four current or former former state senators and others.

Pouncy's family and friends clasped hands and wiped tears as the judge indicated he would not send her to jail.

"Obvious relief, as was mine," Spina said of Pouncy's reaction to the sentence. She declined to speak as she left the federal courthouse in